DOWNTOWN AKRON — Cool temperatures and a morning rain did not dampen the inaugural Downtown Akron Chalk Walk May 17 on South Main Street. The original date was canceled due to rain.

During the Chalk Walk, which was part of Akron’s Neighbors Day celebrations, local artists were invited to create chalk murals on the sidewalks to beautify the city. Each artist was allocated a certain number of sidewalk sections to complete, and the community also was invited to participate.

The Chalk Walk was approved during the April 2 MyAkron event at the Akron Civic Theatre. The MyAkron initiative is organized by the Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) Emerging Leaders, according to event officials. Citizens submit project ideas and present them to the public, and those attending MyAkron events vote for a favorite project for implementation with the DAP Emerging Leaders.

Jaclyn Flossie, presenter of the Chalk Walk idea, is pictured below working on her art.

Among other chalk creations was the City of Akron logo, shown above right.

Akron Art Museum officials were on hand with spray chalk and stencils, and invited participants to contribute ideas to the newly announced Make Your Mark community-inspired public art project. According to event officials, the project, a collaboration among the Akron Art Museum, John S. Knight Center, Downtown Akron Partnership, Akron-Summit County Public Library and Summit Artspace, will incorporate community sketches into a large mural by local artist Jesse Strother in the John S. Knight Center. The mural will be unveiled July 5 at 7:30 p.m. during the Downtown Akron Artwalk.